Zócalo Group town square blog

Ideas, insights & Inspiration that drive recommendations.

Jan27

Social Media Among Latinos: The Power of Nuance

The consumer has spoken: relationships and experiences are among the most important parts of their journey towards engagement and consideration of a brand. And when it comes to the Latino community, America’s fastest growing population segment, social media is providing an essential way for brands to make this connection. Social media provides a great way to celebrate the rich cultural tapestry that is at the essence of identity for Latinos, a starting point in unlocking impact and value among this group. The challenge is being able to understand and engage Latinos appropriately via social channels, a road that although not necessarily less traveled, is nowadays often navigated poorly.

Among the many approaches that are important to understand when developing an effective Hispanic social media strategy, resisting the urge to lump all Latinos together is critical. The importance of valuing and acknowledging the diversity in the Latino culture is not a maybe… it’s paramount for success. And today’s social media tools can make this happen effectively.

Reaching today’s Hispanic consumer needs to focus on a commitment that goes against the grain of traditional outreach to this community. After segmenting based mostly on language proficiency, most brands approach outreach with a one-size fits all approach. Make the campaign all in Spanish and call it a day. Or drop in a word or two in Spanish from commonly used phrases into an English language campaign and feel effective. The failure in these approaches is that they miss the vast diversity of today’s Latino population and the varied and nuanced ways they interact with each other, and ultimately make brand selections.

There are more than 21 different countries of origin making up today’s Latino population in the U.S. Each group has a rich array of cultural distinctives that make the one-size approach meaningless. From diverse idioms, historical backgrounds, approach to style and engagement, even a literal, vast array of physical appearances, a successful social media marketing campaign needs to focus on these differentiations and be built on a nuanced and targeted approach. Even more so than in the mainstream population, what works for one will most definitely not work for the other among Latinos. By taking the time to develop a deep understanding of the culture, values, and origins of a targeted group, the opportunity to more effectively activate Hispanic recommendations comes to life.